Joe DiMisa is a builder, but 1992 USF MBA alumnus isn’t in the construction business.

Senior vice president and practice leader with Sibson Consulting, DiMisa, 38, builds relationships and solves problems for companies across the nation.  Rather than hammers, jigsaws, or drills, DiMisa considers communication and relationship building skills the tools of his trade. 

A consultant, expert negotiator, author, and lecturer, Joe DiMisa develops sales teams, crafts growth plans, forms sales strategies and manages distribution channels.  He credits USF’s College of Business for laying the foundation for his career.

“USF really propelled me into the field,” he said recently.  “Sales operations, sales management, marketing, consulting – it all began with my USF background.” 

DiMisa offers some advice for soon-to-be grads establishing their own careers:

• Look for important tasks inside your firm and try to take ownership of them.  “Give them a passionate look, even the ugly and unpopular tasks.  You can build skills and people will recognize your effort.”
• Build relationships and build them early in life.  “Put every business card you receive in your Palm Pilot or Outlook database, even if you think it might not help now.”
• Strengthen communication skills and take extra courses in these areas.  “Communication skills are important to everyone.  Even those who are comfortable can learn and do better in this area.  Immediately out of school, I was thrust into some nerve-wracking presentations before senior leaders at work.  I was not only prepared for content, but also for the presentation.  I attribute this to my time at USF.  Students today just don’t seem to have the same depth in this skill set.”
• Take ownership of your own development and the development of others. “Allow yourself to be mentored and mentor junior people who come aboard later in your career.  I was mentored by my first boss, my father-in law and senior execs at BellSouth.  It really helped me grow and mature.  The biggest lessons I learned:  find what you like to do and have a passion for it, and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.”

I wrote the book based upon my experiences working with world-class sales organizations and salespeople," said DiMisa. "It is meant to help those who are seeking techniques that separate the average sales performer from the extraordinary sales performer."

"Recalling his experience at USF, DiMisa believes the flexible schedule and quality program boosted his confidence and helped him build relationships.  “To this day,” he said, “I keep in touch with many people I graduated with, even though fifteen years have passed.” 

“The USF Career Center brought BellSouth to campus to interview MBA students and they hired two of us then,” he said, noting the job helped him apply some newly-learned lessons right away.  “It gave me a lot of good experience in sales, marketing, and managerial roles.”

A builder from the start, DiMisa eventually brought this telecom background to Ockham Technologies, to help shape the small start-up firm.  Ockham developed software to help sales managers run the sales force.  DiMisa’s experience at BellSouth brought the corporate background to the table; others brought consulting backgrounds. 

“It was a great mix,” he said, “and we were eventually bought out by a larger firm.”

DiMisa and colleagues from Ockham later established TCert, a firm selling intelligent software for online sales training.  “At the time,” he said, “this was considered cutting edge.” The intuitive software program evaluated skills and competencies, and modified questions as a result, which impressed a client so much that he purchased the company and folded it into his organization.

Now a consultant, DiMisa is still building relationships and still solving problems, but doing so as a part of the Sibson team, splitting his time between Tampa and Atlanta.  He said he loves his job more than ever. 

“Every day I am learning something and building relationships with new people,” he said.  “I might be in Atlanta one week with a telecom company, or Little Rock with a manufacturer.  Every week is a new challenge as I help build plans to solve complex problems.”